"President Obama’s foreign policy has been a disaster, not only for the United States but also for the hopes of those who desire a more free and prosperous world. Only an approach such as prudent American realism can stanch the loss of American power, influence, and credibility."

"Obama’s turning from the Middle East war is not just a strategic mistake for America, but a stain on America. The legitimacy of representative government is not in self-evident principles but in principles made real, in the principled use of actual power. By pivoting away from the Middle East, the United States is saying through its actions that anything goes."

"Even if Europe somehow solved its capabilities deficit and overcame its fundamentals problem, European states lack the political will necessary to pool their resources and integrate their forces to act collectively and independently from the United States."

"If history is any judge, the swing back to interventionism is coming, and soon. A smart contender would get out ahead of the cycle now by outlining how the United States can pursue a policy of strategically grounded, tactically adept international leadership."

In a corrupt polity, speech is at the service of power, and is replaced by flattery, the use of words to obtain something from the other. Words are thus tools of power, not of dialogue and conversation, as they assume the meaning most useful at the moment and to the nature of the transaction at hand. They are no longer directed toward truth, but toward a preferred outcome."

"When the history of the Obama administration is written, there will be a long and damaging chapter on its immense humanitarian and strategic failure in Syria. With three years of Obama yet to come, we have not even seen the full humanitarian disaster play out​—​nor have we yet confronted the dangers that are arising there from the vast jihadist presence."